Happy Sunday all! Thanks for all the nice comments and congrats on my loss this week. It is definite motivation to stay on track and keep on workin’ it.
I have never been a fan of the Thin Breads because they still taste like “diet” bread to me. However, when I saw that Thomas had Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Thins, I thought it was worth giving them another try.
The first thing I ALWAYS look at when I pick up a new product, is the ingredient list. I LOVE that they spell this out on their wrapper.
3 points+ a bagel (same as my FAVORITE Trader Joe’s Bread).
Topped with 1 Tbsp Natural Honey Roasted Peanut Butter (6 points+)
Plus a Grape~Orange? Not sure what they call it. I bought these at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday ~ it’s a cross between an orange and a grapefruit.
They are so sweet and juicy and you don’t really taste the grapefruit (yeah!)
Yes, I totally have a thing for making faces with my food ~ what can I say?! I am a kid at heart.
After breakfast, I decided to get to work on our garden. Since we have had funky weather, we have been waiting to plant it this year.
THE LOVE GARDEN! (The Husband made these signs when he built my garden box last year).
I rototilled the soil myself by hand then, planted all of these:
* Zucchini
* Crookneck Squash
* Cilantro
* Cubano Peppers
* Lemon Thyme
* Rosemary
* Roma Tomatoes
* Sweet Basil
* Japanese Cucumbers
THE LOVE CHILD ~ Sweet 100 Cherry Tomato.
Lunch today was sort of random. I started off with a banana and a Mini Babybel light cheese to tied me over while I made up a few new recipes with avocados (1 points+)
The peeps over at the California Avocado Commission sent me a HUGE box of California Haas Avocados (The BEST!) to make up a few new recipes with as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.
I will be posting my recipes for these soon….first up.
Black Bean, AVOCADO, Corn Salsa
Crunchy Guacamole with Pomegranate Seeds (I LOVE the sweet crunch and the color!)
The BEST part of buying a veggie tray for picture presentation is that we now have a ton of veggies to snack on all week.
I actually never portioned out a plate, but, snacked on these veggies and 12 tortilla chips with a little of each dip. (9 points+ for my nibbles)
I also snacked on some pineapple and cantaloupe as I cut them up.
Our dinner plans totally changed today after we kept smelling everyone barbecuing. I am glad we did because dinner totally HIT THE SPOT.
BBQ Chicken Legs (my favorite way to eat grilled chicken!) (3 points+)
I LOVE this salad and could honestly eat an entire bowl of it.
1/2 cup Harvest Grain Salad (4 points+)
Swiss Chard!
Corn that we got for $0.25 each!
Deliciousness (my placemat is a napkin folded out 
)
I am pretty sure I am going to snack on some more fruit before the night is over.
NEW AT FRIENDS FOR WEIGHT LOSS
* New Tip of the Week & Guest recipe from Zesty Cook for 3 Points+ Bacon Hash browns ~ check them out at the bottom of the page!
* This week’s Challenge ~ What is your July 4th GOAL?
HERE IS MY MINI MENU FOR THE WEEK
Did I mention yet that I bought 1 LB of Organic Mixed Greens too ~ lots of salads planned this week
* Carne Asada Taco Salad in tortilla “shells”
* BACON Baked Vegetable Tortellini
* Chef Salads or one of my ideas below
* BLTA’s with Kale Chips
* Shrimp & Chickpea Salad
Other ideas that I STILL want to make Clean Eating Collard Greens with Spicy Shrimp and Turkey Sausage, Sopitas de Tortilla, French Dip Sandwiches, 9 points+ & Made with BEER, Shrimp Cobb Salad
Q’s
What is on your menu this week? Anything new, fun, or exciting?
Night all!
Great post!!…..Love the garden box it’s awesome!!!
Keep up the weight loss & the awesome recipes…..I love coming back for more!!!
freckles-fat-be-gone.blogspot.com
I LOVE your garden- very cool idea! The BBQ looks so delicious!
1st congrats on weight loss, this motivates us all! I love, love your garden box. What a great idea. My favorite is Cubano Peppers. So fun to cook with, Besides frying I stuff them, so fun! Long weekend is almost done but Friday will be here before we know it 😉
Guess what I was just doing? I took my husband out to our yard to find the best spot for a garden box 🙂 I also have an old baker’s rack that I’m going to use for some herb pots! Bryan is asking what is the size of the box? Also, as I was looking over some of your old posts, I found the Harvest Grain Salad recipe; since I’m nowhere near a TJ’s, do you think I can make it with red quinoa? Enjoy your day Danica, and thanks for your encouragement, as always!
Hi Gail,
That is awesome you all are going to put in a garden box. The Husband said ours is roughly 2 x 4 x 8. The bottom layer is rocks with about 2 feet of dirt.
As for the Harvest Grain Salad, you could combine Israeli Couscous with your quinoa and get the same effect. It’s delicious, versatile and easy.
Danica
Your garden looks amazing and adorable! I’d really like to start one, but in the summer my allergies really come out and I don’t think I’d be able to tend to it. =( I normally have to hide inside.
Your dips look amazing!! Love the cute star bowls. ^^ I’ve been meaning to try swiss chard but I have no idea how you prepare it! What’s your favorite way to eat it?
Let’s see, I hope to eat a lot of salad this week with different dressing recipes I’ve found. Also plan on making In A Jiffy Spelt Veggie Burgers (http://ohsheglows.com/2010/01/07/in-a-jiffy-spelt-veggie-burgers/) to have with the salads. Made them once before and I remember them being delicious!
Happy Memorial Day!
Will you be posting recipes for your garden bounty? I have volunteer Roma and cherry tomatoes, eggplant, and lots of herbs. Now I need quick and easy ways to use them. Help!
oh man. i want that veggie try with guac for my lunch now!
can’t wait to see your garden 🙂 we planted more stuff this weekend, too. i can’t wait to have vegetables!
I was sort of scoffing at the Bagel thins too but grew to love them! I love that Harvest Grain Salad. I have been meaning to thank you for this wonderful “library” of recipes you are building here on your site, so helpful ,fun and full of tops and wonderful healthy recipes!!!:)
Hi Cindy,
I actually have a few ideas for tomatoes and eggplant that might help you out.
The links are below
Grilled Eggplant Lasagna
http://danicasdaily.com/grilled-eggplant-lasagna/
Eggplant Parmesan
http://danicasdaily.com/lighter-eggplant-parmesan/
How to make your own canned/stewed tomatoes
http://danicasdaily.com/how-to-make-homemade-crockpot-stewed-tomatoes/
Bruschetta
http://danicasdaily.com/bruschetta/
Other ideas include stir fries, salsa, caprese salads and using the tomatoes on BLTA’s.
I have never tried it, but, I have heard you can freeze your herbs as well as dry them for future use.
Hope that gives you a few ideas
Danica
Hi Robyn,
I have only “steamed” swiss chard, used it in soup and also made this delicious Skillet Gnocchi with it.
http://danicasdaily.com/weight-watchers-5k-walk-it-my-weekly-menu/
To cook it, wash/rinse your leaves well to get any excess dirt off of them. Chopped it into large 3 inch pieces in both directions, I cook/eat the stems too. Add to a large soup pan with about an inch of water. Cover and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. Drain and sprinkle with garlic salt, black pepper and sprays of ICBINB spray.
It’s delicious and sweeter than greens. I think you will like it.
Danica